Suspense over Telangana Bill

Prez gives nod, but govt not clear which House it should be tabled in

• It is in a dilemma over whether it is Money Bill or not
• A Money Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha
• Govt refers the Bill to the Law Ministry for its opinion
• PM invites Sushma, Advani, Jaitley for lunch tomorrow
• Earlier, reports said the Bill would be tabled in RS today

New Delhi: The Centre has decided not to table the Telangana Bill in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday despite President Pranab Mukherjee giving his approval to the legislation on Monday. The government has instead decided to refer the matter to the Law Ministry since there are contending opinions within the UPA over whether or not the legislation was a money bill. A Money Bill can be introduced only in Lok Sabha.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla told The Hans India that the Bill would be introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, even as the government is trying its best to bring all the parties on board on the issue.

The Bill has not yet received the nod of the BJP-led Opposition, which is also instigating the anti-Telangana MPs to protest against the Bill on the floor of the House.

The government, sources stated, has three options on the contentious Telangana Bill: First, it can introduce the Bill and forget about its passage; second, it can call the Marshals in the House, despite stiff resistance from the BJP, which is opposed to any force being used against the MPs; and third, it can ignore the Telangana Bill totally and let the House pass the Vote-on-Account. It is learnt that the Congress is keen to pass the Bill even at the cost of calling the Marshals. Having come this far, the government is desperate on the creation of a new State of Telangana.

The BJP, on the other hand, will be pleased if the UPA government fails in its endeavour, the reason why despite its assurance on Telangana, the party leadership has failed to spell out its stand on the issue.

BJP has exposed itself by its double-speak, as was the case with the Congress earlier. The party, at the best, may walk out in protest, if the Congress uses force to evacuate the rebel MPs from the Upper House.

The BJP's exit would help the UPA government to pass the Bill by voice-vote.

So far, the BJP is adamant not to pass the Bill, unless all the concerns of the Seemandhra MPs are met, that includes financial package, giving Bhadrachalam to the residuary State and refusing to allow Governor to have control of law & order under him for both regions.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has invited the BJP leaders for lunch on Wednesday to discuss the Parliament logjam and to ensure that the Telangana Bill and the crucial anti-graft Bills - high on the agenda of AICC Vice-President Rahul Gandhi - are legislated in this very session. The UPA government is keen to pass all these key legislations ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.

The lunch will be attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, besides NDA Working Chairman L K Advani and BJP President Rajnath Singh. The PM would urge them to help restore order in the House and allow the crucial Bills to be passed.